Sir Adrian William Maxwell Baillie, 6th Baronet DL (5 May 1898 – 8 January 1947)[1] was a British MP for two constituencies.

Sir Adrian Baillie
Member of Parliament
for Tonbridge
In office
23 March 1937 – 15 June 1945
Preceded byHerbert Spender-Clay
Succeeded byGerald Wellington Williams
Member of Parliament
for Linlithgowshire
In office
27 October 1931 – 25 October 1935
Preceded byManny Shinwell
Succeeded byGeorge Mathers
Personal details
Born
Adrian William Maxwell Baillie

(1898-05-05)5 May 1898
Died8 January 1947(1947-01-08) (aged 48)
Political partyUnionist
Conservative
Spouse
(m. 1931; div. 1944)
ChildrenSir Gawaine Baillie, 7th Baronet
EducationEton College
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst

Early life edit

Baillie was born on 5 May 1898. He was the second son of Sir Robert Alexander Baillie, 4th Baronet (1859–1947) and Isabel, Lady Baillie.[2] Upon the death of his elder brother, Sir Gawaine Baillie, 5th Baronet, in 1914 during World War I, he became the 6th Baronet while still at Eton.[3]

His maternal grandfather was David Elliot Wilkie and his paternal grandparents were Thomas Baillie and Elizabeth (née Ballingall) Baillie. His father's older brother, Sir George Baillie, 3rd Baronet (who died unmarried at an early age and was a Justice of the Peace for New South Wales and Victoria), had inherited the baronetcy from his childless uncle, Sir William Baillie, 2nd Baronet, a Conservative Member of Parliament for Linlithgowshire. The first baronet was Sir William Baillie (a son of William Baillie, Lord Polkemmet), who was created the Baillie baronet of Polkemmet in the County of Linlithgow in 1819.[4] Among his extended family was aunts, Elizabeth (née Baillie) Cavendish (wife of William Edwin Cavendish, son of the 2nd Baron Chesham, and sister-in-law of both the 3rd Baron Chesham and 1st Duke of Westminster) and Mary (née Baillie) Price (wife of Thomas Caradoc Rose Price).[5]

Baillie was educated at Eton College and at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[6]

Career edit

Sir Adrian served with the Royal Scots Greys in France in 1918, gaining the rank of Lieutenant. After the war ended, he entered the Diplomatic Service and served as the Second Secretary to the British Embassy at Washington from 1924 to 1928.[6]

Political career edit

While back in the United Kingdom on leave during the summer of 1928, Sir Adrian agreed to contest the parliamentary constituency of Linlithgowshire at the request of Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow. He was defeated by Labour politician Manny Shinwell in 1929, but ran again in 1931 where he was elected as Unionist Party MP for Linlithgowshire,[7] where his family home was situated.[6]

Sir Adrian was defeated in his attempt at reelection in 1935 by George Mathers (who later became the first Baron Mathers). After the death from influenza of Herbert Spender-Clay, he was then elected as Conservative MP for Tonbridge at a by-election in 1937, but stood down in 1945.[6] Sir Adrian, reportedly "devoted himself to his constituents and to campaigning for improved conditions for agricultural workers."[6]

Personal life edit

On 4 November 1931, at Holy Trinity Church in London, he was married to the former Olive Cecilia Paget (1899–1974), the eldest daughter of Englishman Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough and his American wife, Pauline Payne (née Whitney) Paget of the prominent Whitney family.[8] Olive, who was educated in France and served briefly as a wartime nurse, had been married, and divorced, twice before. With her first husband, the Hon. Charles John Frederick Winn (son of Baron St Oswald of Nostell Priory), she was the mother of two daughters; Pauline Winn (b. 1920)[a] and Susan Winn (1923–2001)[b] before their divorce in 1925. With her second husband, Arthur Wilson Filmer, whom she married in 1925, she bought Leeds Castle in Kent, which she retained after their divorce in 1931.[8] Together, Adrian and Olive were the parents of one child before their marriage also ended in divorce in 1944:

He was a friend of the actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr., and was involved in a car accident in Fairbanks car while en route to Palm Springs, California from Los Angeles in 1939.[13]

Sir Adrian died on 8 January 1947.[14] He was buried at Whitburn South Parish Churchyard at Whitburn at West Lothian, Scotland.

Descendants edit

Through his son Gawaine, he was the paternal grandfather of Liza Baillie (b. 1969) and Sir Adrian Baillie, 8th Baronet (b. 1973).[11][15]

References edit

Notes
  1. ^ Sir Adrian's stepdaughter, Pauline Katharine Winn (b. 1920), was first married to Hon. Edward Frederick Ward (1907–1987), son of William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley. They divorced in 1947 and she married Norman Frank Butler (1918–2011) in 1948. In 1958, they also divorced and, in 1960, she married Boyd de Brossard.[9]
  2. ^ Sir Adrian's stepdaughter, Susan Mary Sheila Winn (1923–2001), was married to Geoffrey Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill (1921–2011), with whom she had one daughter and three sons, including David Russell, 5th Baron Ampthill.[10]
Sources
  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
  2. ^ "MRS. WILSON FILMER TO WED A BARONET; Daughter of Lord Queenborough Engaged to Sir Adrian W.M. Baillie, Former Diplomat. WEDDING TO BE HER THIRD She Is Granddaughter of the Late William C. Whitney--Sir Adrian Served in Washington" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 September 1931. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  3. ^ Luscombe, Stephen. "Lieutenant Sir Gawaine Baillie Bt". www.britishempire.co.uk. The British Empire, Imperialism, Colonialism, Colonies. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  4. ^ "No. 17962". The London Gazette. 30 September 1823. p. 1615.
  5. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Debrett's Peerage Limited. 2011. ISBN 9781870520737. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e Gilbert, Adrian; West, Nigel; Mills, Dan; Tsouras, Peter G.; Saunders, Andy (2017). Assassinations Anthology. Grub Street Publishers. pp. 42–45. ISBN 9781526700292. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  7. ^ Unionist Party Mps: John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Robert Horne, 1st Viscount Horne of Slamannan, Fitzroy MacLean, 1st Baronet. General Books. 2011. ISBN 9781233148912. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b "MRS. WILSON FILMER MARRIES A BARONET; Daughter of Lord Queenborough Weds Sir Adrian Baillie Member of Parliament, IN HOLY TRINITY, LONDON Bride Is the Granddaughter of the Late William C. Whitney-- Wedding Is Her Third. Fearnley-Whittingstall--Thomas" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 November 1931. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  9. ^ Rief, Rita (16 November 1984). "AUCTIONS; The Cave collection". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  10. ^ "Lord Ampthill Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. London. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Sir Gawaine Baillie, Bt". Obituaries. London: The Daily Telegraph. 2 January 2004. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  12. ^ "The Philatelic Collection formed by Sir Gawaine Baillie, Bt". News Stories. Worldcollectorsnet.com. 25 September 2004. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Figures in Big Suit. -- Woman Hurt By Auto Seeks $100,000 From Actor and Sir Adrian Baillie". The Baltimore Sun. 30 April 1939. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  14. ^ Lundy, Darryl. "A Genealogical Survey of The Peerage of Britain as Well as The Royal Families of Europe: Person Page – 12893". ThePeerage.com. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  15. ^ Moonan, Wendy (5 May 2006). "A Vanity Postage Stamp, and the Royal Fuss It Ignited". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 May 2019.

External links edit

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Linlithgowshire
19311935
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Tonbridge
19371945
Succeeded by
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Gawaine Baillie
Baronet
(of Polkemmet)
1914–1947
Succeeded by